hilary clinton has some of the key attributes of a good secretary of state — stature and toughness — but that she’s untested as a negotiator, and her status as an erstwhile obama rival might undermine an envoy’s traditional trump card.
在上面的报道中,trump card就是指“王牌,绝招”。trump card原意是“牌局中最大的王牌”。王牌在手,即胜券在握。王牌往往会留到最后关头才打出,所以一般人们用这个短语来形容决定性的可以扭转局势的手法。如:the coach saved his star player for a trump card.(教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌)。
我们常用play one’s trump card来表示“使出绝招”。如:finally she played her trump card and threatened to resign.(最后她使出了绝招,扬言要辞职)。
而have all the trumps in one’s hand (hold some trumps) 则表示“胸有成竹,有必胜把握”,但如果你put someone to his trumps那可就要“把某人逼入绝境,迫使他使出最后的招数”了。
Draw the Line划定界限
划定界限: draw the line
【专四词汇相关报道】
the $25 billion rescue plan for the auto industry, desperately sought by detroit’s beleaguered big three, collapsed thursday as congress drew the line at one more bailout and democrats said they wouldn’t even consider it until the companies produced a convincing plan for rebuilding their once-mighty industry.
在上面的报道中,draw the line就是指reasonably object (to) or set a limit (on),即“划定界限”或“对某件事限制或反对”,也可用draw a line替换。
这种用法最早来源于网球以及类似的球类运动,这些活动需要在场地中央划线,将场地分成两块,后来演变成“划定界限”的意思。如:it all depends on your concept of fiction and where you draw the line between fact and fiction.(这有赖于你对虚构这一概念的理解以及你如何划定事实和虚构的界线。)
我们常说的“忍耐也得有个度”常用one must draw the line somewhere来表示。